Changes Unknown
by KaliMione77
Summary: Hermione comes home from a work trip to find her fiance shagging someone else in their bed. She turns hesitantly to a friend that had turned his back on her two years before. Comforting each other, the two rekindle their friendship and become even closer than before. Warning: The will be rough descriptions of kidnapping, torture, and rape.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own Harry Potter or anything else in the world that J. K. Rowling. I just enjoy messing with her characters a little!_

_Hermione thoughts are in Italics._

**Changes Unknown**

"SAFE! I was safe! You kept dating me for three years because I was safe?" I said drawing my wand and pointing it at Ron's face.

Ron was definitely terrified of me. He had scrambled off our bed when he first noticed me. He had tried to explain, but he was doing a piss poor job of it. He was currently backed up against his dresser.

"Hermione, th-th-that's not-t-t what I meant t-t-to say." Ron stammered as his eyes crossed to keep the point of my wand in his site.

"Really, Ron that is not what you meant to say?" I said slowly as I turned my hand menacingly. "Then, what in the bloody hell did you mean to say?"

"I meant… I meant… I don't know what I meant." Ron whispered barely loud enough for me to hear. "You know my family. They would never accept me for being this way."

I slightly loosened my grip on my wand and lowered my arm. _I can't believe myself. I actually sort of feel bad for Ron and all of his insecurities._ "Are you kidding me? Your family is some of the most accepting people I have ever met. They adopted Harry and me into your family. They forgave Narcissa and Draco Malfoy because they helped save the three of us multiple times! But you thought they wouldn't accept you being with someone that made you truly happy?"

"But what I have done… what I am… what I am doing is harder to accept than…"

"What you're doing is worse than evil, despicable acts?" I huffed before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I don't think this is about your family not accepting you for who you are and what makes you happy. This is about you accepting yourself and you being a bloody coward!" I said taking a step back with my hands shaking. "Why did you even propose to me?"

He slide down his dresser to the floor as the truth of my words and my question hit him. "I am sorry, Hermione. I am so very sorry."

"Honestly, Ron, I don't give a shit if you are sorry. At this moment, I don't have a single forgiving bone in my body." I said turning around and started making my way out of our bedroom. "I will be back tomorrow evening for all of my things. You will not be here when I am. I don't want to see you for a long, long time."

I left the room and walked down the stairs of the house that Ron's Aunt Muriel had bought us when we had gotten engaged. I stopped on the bottom stair and placed my diamond engagement ring on the banister. I walked to the front door and stopped again. I called out to the silent, anxious, scared couple upstairs. "It was not so lovely to see you again, Kenneth."

As I shut the front door, I heard Ron beginning to scream as the bat-bogeys appeared on his face after I cast a non-verbal hex toward the ceiling.

~*Changes Unknown*~

I walked down the front path and through the white picket gate. Taking a deep breath, I tried to figure out my next move. I needed a place to stay for the night before I collapsed from exhaustion.

_I could go to the Leaky Cauldron and rent a room for the night. I could easily get to Gringotts for work in the morning. On the other hand, I don't really feel like being alone tonight._

_I can't go to the Burrow. Molly and Arthur are Ron's parents. Besides, Ron will probably show up there for breakfast tomorrow morning, if Kenneth can help him reverse my hex._

_My parent's house is no longer an option. _AfterKingsley and I restored their memories, they forgave me and were even proud of me for wiping their memories and keeping them safe. We stay in touch by writing every week, but they chose to stay in Australia and they sold their house here in England. _I could go stay with them in Australia, but I am too angry to apparate that far and I have to work in the morning._

_Bill and Fleur would welcome me at Shell Cottage. Then, Bill and I can floo to work together. It is Bill's first night home after being home after being with me in Egypt for the last two weeks. I am sure that he didn't walk in on what I walked in on earlier. Plus, Fleur fusses and hovers more than Molly ever since Victoire was born._

_George's large flat above his shop was not an option either. He and Katie probably already had a hard time getting their one year old twin girls and the two year old twin brothers that they had adopted after Fred and Angelina had passed away to bed. Plus, Katie is halfway through her second pregnancy. I can't in good conscience do anything to possibly cause a second bedtime for them tonight._

_Charlie and Kursten had a newborn at home just like Percy and Penelope. I placed both of those couples in the no column of my mental check list. Neville and Luna are about to deliver their first daughter any day now, so they are also on the no list._

_I'm not close enough to any of the other curse breakers to ask them if I can borrow a couch tonight._

While I was thinking and going through a list of my friends, I walked. When I got to the edge of Ottery St. Catchpole, I had made a decision._ I had only one option left to stay with a friend, Harry._

~*Changes Unknown*~

I had been standing in the courtyard in front of Number 12 Grimmauld Place for approximately twenty minutes. It was getting close to eleven pm. I am tired, cold, angry, sad, and hungry all at the same time. _I'm too complex for Ron. I am not a teaspoon._

I just didn't have the courage to walk across the street, climb the front steps, and knock on the door. _What a Gryffindor I am!_

Just when I was about to leave and get a room at the Leaky Cauldron, the front door of Number 12 opened.

Harry Potter stepped onto the top stair and called out to me. "Hermione Jean Granger, why are you standing out there shivering? Get your ass in this house right now. If you don't do it quickly, I will come and get you!"

Knowing that he would make good on his threat, I waited for a car to pass. Then, I sprint across the street and into his open arms.

"Hermione, why were you just standing out there for the past twenty minutes? Where were you for the hour before that?" Harry half questioned and half ranted at me. He led me down the hall. Sirius, Tonks, and Remus waved to me from Sirius' portrait where his mother's used to be.

Harry murmured to them not to be nice to me because I am in trouble. He escorted me down the stairs to the kitchen mumbling about me being stupid for standing out in the cold.

Once we were in the large, basement room, he ordered me to sit at the table. Then, he moved about the room making tea and muttering to under his breath like Kreacher used to do before he met Winky.

"How long did you know I was out there? How did you know I was missing, even though I really wasn't, for the hour before that?" I asked when he sat down opposite me. "We haven't seen each other for almost a year. Why would anyone contact you to find me?"

"Everyone has been floo calling me and everyone else in the wizarding world trying to find you. Everyone else is apparating from place to place trying to find you. I know for a fact that Kingsley even went to Malfoy Manor to make sure no one there lapsed." Harry waving his hands around like he always does when he is agitated. "Twenty minutes and many floo calls. Hermione, no matter what has happened the past two years, I still care a great deal for you. I may not have acted like it, but you are still my best friend. I have worried about you every day." Harry said as he placed his hands comfortingly over mine. Then, he reached his right hand up and wiped away a tear from my cheek. "You are exhausted. I should get you to a bed. We will save the deep, over-thinking discussions for tomorrow."

"Okay, I will feel so very much better after a night's sleep." I replied sarcastically as I tried to stifle a yawn.

"Now, you have your choice of any of the bedrooms. Well, you can't have the master, BuckBeak still lays claim to it. I swear that one of these days I will get him to sleep in the house that Hagrid made for him in the back garden." Harry said with a dry chuckle that made me smile.

"That sound is wonderful to hear." I said so low that I didn't think he heard me, but he did.

"You have no idea." Harry said chuckling again. "It's time to get you to bed. You are not to worry about a thing. Bill owled Gringotts and told them you are both doing some research from home tomorrow. Plus, I locked the Floo network and placed and anti-apparation charm here. You have from now until Monday morning to relax and maybe make a few decisions."

"Thanks, Harry." I said as I stood and walked my mug over to the sink. "I guess I better go find a room."

"Kreacher, Winky, and I have been really working this place over. I think you will find the best rooms are Sirius and Regulus' old rooms." Harry said following me up the stairs to the main hall.

"Oh, shit!" I exclaimed when we reached the main hall.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry looked at me and all around frantically. He sank to the floor as I did with tears in his eyes. "Talk to me. I can't fight what I don't know!" He is still on high alert even three years after the war.

"It's over. The past almost ten years of my life have been some kind of cruel joke." I cried out as he pulled me into his arms. "Plus, I still have to keep his secret."

Harry just rocked me as he ran his fingers though my hair. "You are going to get though this, Hermione. You don't have to do anything for him ever again, if you don't want to."

"I have to go back to that house and pack all of my stuff tomorrow night." I said after several minutes of his soft murmuring and reassurances.

He pulled back from me slightly and ducked to look me in the eye. "If you want, I will go with you. If you don't want to go, I am sure Bill and Fleur will go over and pack for you."

"Does everyone know that he cheated on me? In the bed that my parents bought us when Muriel bought us the house?" I asked quietly.

"The git cheated on you? I'll kill him." Harry said with an iced fire in his green eyes.

"Obviously, you didn't." I said trying to lighten our dismal moods again.

"No one told me, but I don't think anyone knows that happened." Harry said helping us both to our feet. "Ron isn't talking much and he took himself to St. Mungo's."

"Oops! Maybe that spell was a little too strong."

"I figured that was your handy work. Last I heard he is still at hospital and the healers haven't been able to remove it yet." He said starting toward the next set of stairs. As we continued up to the bedrooms, he waved to the portraits. "Night, Sirius. Good night, Mum and Dad. Night, Ginny. Night, Remus and Tonks."

I could see the love and hurt in his eyes as he said good night to paintings instead of the actual people.

He startled me from my thoughts by asking me a surprise question. "Do you still scream at night?"

I made an attempt at sarcasm. "Doesn't everyone at this point?"

"Funny," Harry said as he nudged me with his shoulder. "Don't silence the room. It has been so long since someone else has been here that I don't want to forget someone else is here."

"If you are sure," I said skeptically. "I will warn you that Bill says I am progressively getting louder."

"I'm sure I can handle it." Harry said smirking before pulling me into a hug. "I've missed you, but we will talk more about that tomorrow."

"Night, Harry."

~*Changes Unknown*~

I don't really remember walking into Regulus' room, changing into the sleep tank and shorts from my extendable bag, or climbing into the bed. I don't remember my dreams, screaming until I woke Harry up, or Harry coming into the bedroom.

I do remember waking up with Harry's arms wrapped around me, seemingly protecting me from my dreams and my own personal bitch in the darkness. I was a little surprised realize that Harry was not wearing a shirt.

I tried slipping out of his arms to the washroom without him noticing or waking up. I slid a pillow in between our bodies and breathed a sigh of relief and did a quiet happy dance when I made it to the adjoining washroom.

After using the restroom, I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked horrible. My hair was a mess, so I pulled it back into a somewhat tamer bun. Now that I can see my full face, I realize my make-up is smeared and all over the place. I grab a washcloth and quickly scrub my face clean.

I still have red eyes with circles around them. I still have numbed, stoic facial expression. I am still the mousey, know-it-all, bookworm that I was when I was a student at Hogwarts. I am still a fool that is in love with Ronald Weasley.

I decided that I didn't want to keep analyzing myself and turned from the mirror and left the washroom. I crept back into the room and I laid down on the chaise lounge under the street facing bay window. I laid there and watched the sun make its daily journey through the sky.

When the sunlight finally touched my face, the weight and enormity of the past twelve hours hit me. I felt the tears beginning to stream down my face and I knew they would not be stopping anytime soon. I needed a hug. I needed Harry.

I called out to Harry and I heard him stir on the bed behind me.

"Hermione, where are you?" He asked in a raspy tone.

"Grab you glasses from the nightstand and I am on the chaise near the window." I answered through my tears.

He leaned me forward and sat down behind me. Pulling me back against his chest, in a voice filled with sleep, he said "I had no idea this thing was called a chaise."

Through my tears, I lightly asked, "Is that really the point right now, Harry?"

"No, but I am half asleep." He said like it made his random comment make sense. "Plus, I hate to see you cry, especially when I am one of the reasons."

"Why do you say that you are one of the reasons?"

"Because I know you, Hermione Jean Granger. You haven't cried since the end of the war. You have tried to be strong for everyone else while they fall apart. You stay strong for your friends and family, even when one or two of us have been nothing, but royal asses to you." Harry said wrapping his arms around my shoulder to ground me to him. "Hermione, I'm here with you. I am not going to push you away ever again. Let everything out. Then, Winky and I will make your favorite breakfast, porridge with peaches and honeycomb."

_Author's Note~_

_I write as a release of stress from being a single mum and working with special needs high school students. I don't always have time to write, so there will be no set posting schedule. I try to catch all of my grammatical mistakes, but I am not perfect and I write un-betaed. _

_I do make up different situations from J. K. Rowling's work, but I am not a fan of making up my own characters. Everyone in here is in her original books. The man with Ron was Kenneth Towler, a Gryffindor that was two years above the Golden Trio in school. Charlie's wife is Kursten Blijk, who was a German Quidditch Chaser._

_I would appreciate any and all feedback. I will be sending previews of upcoming chapters to every reviewer._

_~KaliMione77_

_P.S. What happened to Ginny will be in the next chapter._


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own Harry Potter or anything else in the world that J. K. Rowling. I just enjoy messing with her characters a little!_

_Hermione thoughts are in Italics. The song lyrics for Atomic Kitten's __Bye Now__ are in _**Bold.**

**Changes Unknown: 2**

I could see the light of the sun fading in the courtyard across from Number 12 Grimmauld Place. I don't remember most of the day. It was a blur of tears, Winky begging me to eat, and Harry holding me in my mind.

Harry squeezed me tighter from behind and breaking me from my stupor. "Hermione, you haven't scowled at me or even said a word to me for five hours; is that a new record?" He asked whispering in my ear.

My response was raspy from the racking sobs that had engulfed my body throughout the day. "You should go back to being a supportive, silent, and strong back rest. You are not a good comedian."

"There is the Hermione wit and sarcasm I know and love." He said chuckling behind me. "Out of curiosity, have you noticed the owl sitting on my knee yet?"

I looked toward his knee in surprise. I held my arm out and the gorgeous, snowy owl hopped onto it. "Hello, Beautiful. How are you, Weaselette? Do you have a letter for me?"

After she lightly nipped my finger and softly hooted, I turned my head to look at Harry. He looked like I felt; tired, beaten down, and emotionally drained. He tore his eyes away from the last present he had received from Ginny, his owl, to meet mine. "What?"

I shake my head and ask, "How long has she been here?"

He reached out and stroked Weaselette's wings as he answered. "She has only been here for about ten minutes, but she is very patient unlike her namesake. She would have waited another five minutes or so before she lightly pecked at your hand."

"That is very considerate of her. I guess I should read my letter, huh?" I asked look at the address on the envelope. "Any clue who this is from?"

"I'm guessing it is from Bill… or Charlie… or Percy… or George." Harry said chuckling. "She will only deliver letters to and from them... and you. I have a barred owl named Phin that does all of my other deliveries."

I leaned my head back on Harry, snuggling my head in the curve between his neck and shoulder. I broke the seal and unrolled the parchment. I notuced the signatures was Bill's. Before I read it, I asked, "Is that her choice or yours?"

"Hers," he said with certainty. "That is most definitely her choice. I actually think she liked Ginny more or maybe Ginny just spoiled her more."

I laid there against him stunned. I couldn't believe that Harry was talking so openly about Ginny. To my knowledge, no one had gotten him to talk about her without a breakdown.

"Hermione, I'm not dancing in the street happy, but I am doing okay." Harry said surprising me even more. "I meant what I said last night. I know that I shouldn't have pushed you away and said the things that I said."

"Harry, you don't have to apologize. You were grieving. I don't blame you for anything." I said trying to stop him and to stop the tears from coming.

He hugged me tighter and placed his chin on the top of my head. "What did I ever do to deserve a best friend like you?"

I smiled a sly, small smile. "Maybe the fates knew that you would need someone with actual intelligence to help you get through school or to defeat the Chief Death Eater."

"Really, Hermione?" Harry said tickling my sides. "I can't believe you said that."

"Well, it is the truth, isn't it?" I asked lightly giggling.

He found my most ticklish spot just to the left of my belly button causing me to almost explode with laughter. When he had stopped and I had calmed down, he said, "Just for that I won't let Winky bring us supper up here. You will have to walk all the way downstairs to the kitchen."

"That is not that big of a deal. I have a broken heart, not broken legs." I said starting to get up, but causing myself to wince from my own words and from sitting so still for so long.

"Hermione, you don't have to be so strong with me." Harry said reaching out and grabbing my arm. "You always do things you don't truly have to do. You hopped on a hippogriff to help rescue Sirius even though you are terrified of flying."

"You couldn't have gotten him onto Buckbeak by yourself." I said quietly. "Besides, I don't know how else to be."

"Herm…" Harry started.

I sighed and interrupted him. "I have to go to the washroom."

"Are you sure?"

I chuckled lightly despite how I was actually feeling. "I am sure, Harry. I feel disgusting. I haven't had a shower since I was in Egypt yesterday morning. I'll meet you down in the kitchen in about a half hour." I answered as I got up and crossed to the washroom door.

He nodded his head and exited the room like he didn't believe my flimsy excuse to be alone. _He can still read me like nobody else in the world._

As I sat on the edge of the tub watching it filled with raspberry scented water from the tap, I remembered the letter that Weaselette had brought me. I ran to get it and set it on the floor before turning off the taps and stripping down.

I hissed as I gently lowered myself into the almost full tub. My body was sore from the past two weeks of hard work in Egypt, my infuriated anger, and the sobs that had wreaked havoc on my body for the better part of the day.

I fully submerged my body in the healing water and let out a long sigh of relief as I reemerged. I reveled in the gentle scent as it eased the tension from my shoulders, back, and legs.

To aid in my relaxation, I grabbed my wand and waved it at the wireless in the upper shelf opposite of the sink and mirror. I smiled as Westlife's version of Uptown Girl filled the room. I always loved this song while growing up and I love the slight rock tones of this new version. As the song ended, I slipped under the surface of the water again.

As my ears broke went above the water, tears began to form in my eyes. The haunting lyrics to Atomic Kitten's Bye Now were a bit too close to home.

**Bye now, take this love away from me  
Bye now, set my soul and spirit free  
Bye now, take this love away from me  
Bye now, let me be what I can be**

**Go make it easy on yourself**

"HARRY!" I cried hoping that he could hear me.

**Lately in my life I'm  
Finding I struggle if I  
picture myself no longer  
Underneath your spell  
**

I dropped my wand in the tub as I curled up a tight ball with only my face above the water.

**Bye now, take this love away from me  
Bye now, set my soul and spirit free  
Bye now, take this love away from me  
Bye now, let me be what I can be**

"HARRY! I need you! Please!" I screamed again at the top of my lungs.

**Go and just leave me  
Go make it easy on yourself**

**I can't stand to see you**  
**Couldn't bare to feel you**  
**Its tearing my heart**  
**Its only to**

"HARRY!"

As I finished screaming his name for the third time, He burst into the washroom with his wand drawn and ready. "Hermione, what's wrong? What's attacking you?"

"Turn it off, please. Harry, turn off the wireless." I sobbed form the water.

He quickly did as I asked. Turning back to me, he quickly realized where I was and that I was naked. His eyes immediately flicked toward the ceiling. He started to move toward the door as he said, "Hermione, I'll just step outside. Right?"

I sniffed a couple times before I answered. "I'll be fine in a few moments. You can go downstairs."

"Are you sure?" He asked as he stood at the door still staring at the ceiling. "I can wait right out here and give you a giant hug or a shoulder to cry on when you are clothed."

I did a chuckle and sniff combined. "I will see you in the kitchen, Harry."

"Bring the letter." He said just before closing the door. "I don't want you to read that by yourself."

~*Changes Unknown*~

Twenty minutes later, I was walking past the portraits of my friends that had been lost in the wars. Ginny placed her hand open against the canvas in her frame. I placed my hand against hers.

"Ginny, I miss you so much." I said softly.

"I know you do, Mione." Ginny said with a small laugh. "You have a portrait of me at your house. You stop to talk to me all the time. Well, I guess you won't anymore because it isn't your house anymore."

"Thanks, Ginerva." I scoffed. "I really appreciate the brutal honesty."

She backtracked quickly. "Hermione that is not what I meant. I mean I figured you wouldn't want to go back there ever again. Let alone call that house home."

"That is true." I answered sitting down on the stair and leaning back against the railing. I looked up at her through my lashes. "Did you know? About Ron and…"

"NO! No! Bloody hell, I had no clue what was happening with him until you went to Egypt this last time." Ginny reassured me quickly. "I found out the second night you were gone and they snogged in front of my portrait. I started screaming at him, but he just silenced me and went upstairs."

"Oh, Ginny. I am sorry you had to see your brother snogging someone. I always made sure you didn't have to see us." I said feeling pity for Ginny.

"I know and I appreciate that." Ginny said with a smile. "I think, I hope that he was planning on being alone when you came home and was going to tell you. Even if he wasn't planning on telling you, I would have told you. Please, believe me."

"I believe you. I just wonder how long I have been such a bloody, stupid bint and not seen what was happening in my relationship." I said with angry tears starting to form in my eyes.

"Hermione, you can't think like that. Ron is the idiot and arse, not you." Ginny said trying to abate my anger.

"I know he is an arse, but that doesn't stop me from feeling like I am as stupid as a slug!"

"Stop it right now, Hermione!" Ginny shouted at me. "You will not so this to yourself."

Harry burst through the kitchen door at this point. He saw me sitting on the stairs. "What is going on? Why are you sitting on the stairs crying, Hermione? Why are you yelling at her, Ginny?"

"The brightest witch of her age and almost any other is beating herself up over my brother being an bloody arse." Ginny sarcastically explained to Harry.

"Gin, yelling at her isn't going to help. You made her cry." Harry said whining at Ginny.

I stuck my tongue out at Ginny behind Harry's back.

"See, she is getting angry. The little bint just stuck her tongue out at me. She needs to get angry to get past this." Ginny said trying to explain to Harry what needs to happen. "She just needs to be pissed at the right person."

Harry turned to me and laughed. "Very mature, Hermione. Now, can we go eat something?"

"Sure, but I don't think I will be much company." I answered dryly.

~*Changes Unknown*~

We didn't talk much to each other as we sat in the homey, basement kitchen besides that the food was good. I did talk a great deal to Winky much to Harry's amusement.

"Winky are you sure you should be doing all of this cooking and cleaning?" I asked her truly worried about her.

"I's be take easy. Kreacher and I's work to help Master Harry." The small, house-elf replied. "I dos only cooking the meals. Master Harry say no more work for me. He say that order till baby three months old."

"That sounds like a great plan, Winky. Harry knows that you love to work, but you need to make sure you take care of that baby you are going to have soon." I said trying to make sure I didn't upset her and cause stress on the baby.

"Missus Hermione, I is careful of baby. She is name Dobbette." Winky said proudly and sadly at the same time. "Master Harry say he wills give Dobbette work. She will be charge of owls, Crooky, ands BuckBeak."

I leaned down close to the small elf. "That is very nice of him. I truly hope Dobbette loves animals. Please, let me know if I can help when the baby comes."

I looked up to see Harry smiling and Kreacher standing on the bottom of the stairs. Harry looked amused and proud of himself for the progress he had made with his two, soon to be three, house-elves. Kreacher was looking at Winky with love.

"Kreacher, I am very excited that I might be here when Dobbette comes. She is going to be such a special little elf." I said catching his attention.

"We is happy, Missus." Kreacher barely said before Harry interrupted.

"What do you mean you MIGHT be here when Dobbette arrives?" Harry asked in a shocked voice.

The two elves slowly backed away.

"Yes, might. I might be here when the baby arrives." I answered by surprised by how shocked he sounded.

Harry stood up from the table. "Hermione, you are so aggravating sometimes. I wish that you would just let go and let someone else take care of you for more than five minutes."

"I…"

"No! You won't interrupt me. You barely cried at the funerals. You had to stay strong for everyone else." Harry ranted. "We were trapped in a tent for eight months. The only time you let your guard down was when you had worn the locket for six extra hours so I could sleep longer. I took the cursed locket off of you and you finally let loose and left the craziness behind by dancing with me. You are going to stay here for a while. You are going to not fight me on this."

_I hate that he knows me so well._ I huff not knowing how to respond. _I can't stand to be near him anymore._ I bolt for the door, shock freezing him.

Harry found me sitting on the stairs in front of Remus and Tonks portrait. "Are you going to go upstairs to bed?"

"No." I answered trying not to cause any more problems.

"Why not?" Harry asked sinking onto the stair below me.

"I just want to sit here for a while."

"I understand that." He answered laying his head on my shoulder. "I do this from time to time."

Tonks snorted. "He does it almost every day."

"Quiet, Nymph." Harry retorted.

We were quiet for several minutes staring at the different portraits lining the hall and stairs.

"Before I agree to stay here for a while, I need to know if you truly forgive me and don't just pity me." I said quietly hoping that he heard me and would not make me repeat it.

Harry stared at me for a full minute. I thought I had my answer. I started to get up to pack my things and leave. He grabbed my arm and gently pulled me back down.

"You took so long to get here because you were deciding on where to go." Harry said in a dead voice after clearing his throat. "You didnt think you should even try to come here, did you?"

I bit my lip and looked up the stairs in response to his words and his tone of voice. I hated that voice, but for the past two years it had eerily become his normal tone.

He gently placed his fingers under my chin and turned my head to look at him. In the same dead tone, he said, "Hermione, I was really and truly a stupid git. I shouldn't have pushed you away. Everyone, with the exception of Ron, told me how stupid I was being, but I couldn't see it. At that time, I just didn't know how to deal with one more death."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Harry moved his finger and placed it on my lips.

"When I realized how far I had pushed my friends, especially you, away…"

"Harry, you don't have to do this." I said pulling my head away from his finger. "You don't have to relive it. I shouldn't have asked."

"Yes, I do have to do this. You will listen to me." Harry said as he increased the amount of strength and passion in his voice. Once I settled back against the railing, he continued, "I went to talk to Minerva about six months ago. She really is an amazing woman. She is busy being the headmistress of Hogwarts, but she has still taken the time to help me. She has helped me deal with the death, well, all the deaths really. She, also, made me realize that I have been placing the blame in all the wrong places."

I interrupted him with a small, soft voice. "Harry…"

"Hermione, what I am trying to say is I don't have to forgive you. I don't blame you anymore and I never should have. I shouldn't have blamed you for you and Ginny being capture. You ladies were out doing what ladies do, shop. Neither of you could have foreseen any of the horrible things that happened because you walked into Madame Malkin's. All the blame for Ginny being captured, tortured, and killed rests completely on the Death Eaters lying in their graves."

My mind flitted back to that day. May 1, 1999.

"_Hermione, hurry up! Harry is going to be at Grimmauld Place in three hours." Ginny shouted up the Burrow stairs to me. "I want to have everything for my surprise ready before then."_

_I ran down the stairs and she whisked me out of the door before I could even say goodbye to anyone sitting at the kitchen table eating a late lunch. At the end of the long lane, Ginny apparated us to the Leaky Cauldron._

"_First, we are going to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. George is holding a few party supplies for me." Ginny started going over her mental list._

"_I thought you were going to tell him about the baby privately." I said as we stepped out into the bright sunlight and bustle of Diagon Alley._

"_I am telling him privately." Ginny said with a sly smile. "Fred was always a horny bugger. He created several intimate party favors."_

"_You can stop talking now, Ginny. I really don't want to know anymore." I said giggling and skirting us around a group of men. "After seeing George, we…"_

"_We go pick up my robes that Madame Malkin is altering for the memorial tomorrow night. Then, we are going to pick up food and drinks from The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Rosmerta said she would make Harry's favorite meal from there."_

"_Did you tell her what the dinner was for?" I asked a little worried. "If you told her, the entire world knows. Then, we would have wasted a lot of time going from place to place. The healer said you should limit your apparating in the first few months."_

"_She thinks that I am just trying to have a quiet night for him before the one year anniversary of the Hogwart's Battle. So, I'm safe."_

_Katie Weasley handed Ginny the two full bags of toys because George couldn't bring himself to give his baby sister things to help her enhance sex. Both of us rubbed Katie's small baby bump before we left the shop to walk across the road and a couple of shops down._

_We walk into the robe shop to see Madame Malkin sitting immobile in a dressing room chair. Then, we saw the six or seven wands pointing at our chests before everything went bright red before quickly switched to black._

_The next thing I knew Kingsley Shacklebolt was breaking the chains that were holding my wrist to the wall._

"_Hermione, I have you. You don't have to worry about those men anymore." He said as he picked me up and cradled me to his chest. "You are safe now. I have you."_

_He pushed my face into his chest as he carried me down a long, dirt passage way and into the gleaming sun. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel the cool air change to warm air in the sun. Once we were out of the passage way, the majority of the Weasley family was surrounding us._

_Molly was crying, "Hermione, you're safe. You're safe."_

_Bill, Charlie, and George practically ripped me out of Kingsley's arms, but the older and stronger auror turned Minister of Magic held me fast._

"_She needs to stay with me. I know you hate this, but she needs to go with me." He said in a tone that left no room for questions or aurguements._

_Bill kissed my forehead before Kingsley carried me over to a healer that made sure it was safe for me to be apparated to a private ward in St. Mungo's._

_Just before Kingsley and I left the field next to Parkinson Manor, I heard a sound I knew all too well. It was the sound of Harry Potter screaming in more than physical pain._

Harry seemed to notice that I had mentally left Grimmauld Place. He had pulled me down into his lap and was holding me tightly. When he realized I was back, he squeezed me tighter for a second before saying, "Do you need to go to the washroom again?"

I shook my head no against his chest.

Under his breath, he said, "Lucky you. I normally have to run to get sick after visiting that place in my mind."

In a small voice, I said, "You saw more than I did. You always saw more than I did."

He pulled my face gently away from his chest. "I know I always win at the who has more gross and tragic memories contest." He said trying for a twisted humor. Then, he wiped one of my last tears off of my cheek. "Hermione, there is absolutely no reason for me to have to forgive you. Can you ever forgive me for the way I treated you?"

~*Changes Unknown*~

_I love the responses that I have gotten for this story. I am so happy that you all are interested in the lives I have dreamed up for Hermione and Harry. I would appreciate any and all feedback. I will be sending previews of upcoming chapters to every reviewer._

_~KaliMione77_

_P.S. I promise the letter Hermione received will be in the next post._


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own Harry Potter or anything else in the world that J. K. Rowling. I just enjoy messing with her characters a little!_

_Hermione thoughts and memories are in Italics. This chapter has lots of italics._

**Changes Unknown: 3**

I can't sleep. I was sitting up against the headboard of the bed in Sirius' old room. The mattress is wonderfully comfortable with just the right amount of firmness. But I still can't sleep!

I looked over at Harry lying on the king sized, four poster bed next to me in the darkness that was barely penetrated by the moonlight. _He can sleep. He eyes are closed and he is slightly snoring. He can sleep. Granted he does have the smell of a dreamless sleep draught on his breath, but he can sleep._

I huffed quietly and scooted down to lay on the bed for the hundredth time since Harry and I had decided it was time to go to bed. I wiggled a little to get more comfortable in the grey boxers with Snitches on them and black undershirt that I had borrowed from Harry. I will be happy to have my own clothes back in the morning after Winky and I are done emptying and washing everything out of my extendable bag.

I tossed a little trying to get in the most comfortable position, so that maybe I would get to be so comfortable my brain would shut off. It wouldn't. It just kept replaying the conversation the portraits, Harry, and I had after dinner. That conversation was much better than other conversations in my head.

"_How many times in the past twenty-four hours have we asked the other to forgive each other?" I said in a serious, but tearful voice still sitting across his lap on the stairs. "We really can be idiots sometimes."_

_Harry attempted to put an offended expression on his face, but failed miserably. "Whatever do you mean, Hermione? I happen to have gotten 5 N.E.W.T.'s! Not to mention, I used to teach you Defense Against the Dark Arts."_

"_Both with my help..." I whispered under my breath._

"_Excuse me?" Harry said with sarcasm dripping from his voice._

"_Not this again!" Sirius said rolling his eyes and leaving Remus and Tonks portrait for his own._

_A second later, Tonks and Ginny started mocking us from Ginny's frame._

_Ginny whined. "Oh, Hermione, please forgive me?'_

"_No, Harry. I need you to forgive me." Tonks answered._

"_I was wrong. I don't need to forgive you. You need to forgive me." Ginny pleaded._

_Tonks answered again through a fit of giggles. "No, Harry. You are the wizarding world's hero. I need you to forgive me. Please!"_

_Harry and I had tried to keep straight faces. These two funky witches knew that the best thing for us to do right then was to laugh at ourselves._

_We were able to keep our faces semi-stoic until Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody yelled from a few stairs up._

"_Would you all shut it? Or you could, at least, paint me a glass and a full bottle of fire whiskey if you insist on continuing?" Moody's gruff voice said. His wooden leg clunked against the ground as he paced. "All Sirius gave me is a mug of this lukewarm garbage."_

_The entire house was silent for a beat and then, it erupted in laughter. Every painting up and down the hallway and stairwell seemed to be laughing. Sirius, James, and Remus were actually leaning on one another to stay upright._

_As Harry's laughter____subsided, he gasped. "I knew there was something strange about Moody's painting when Sirius showed it to me during Christmas break in fifth year."_

"_So that is what you did when the rest of us were out risking our necks against the Dark Lord." Snape said sneering at Sirius._

_Tonks glossed over Snape's comment and a bit sheepishly said, "Alastor's drink was my fault. Sirius' asked me what Moody's favorite drink was right after we had arrived from our long broom ride to pick up Harry. I was pissed, cold, and sore from all of the back tracks, sidetracks, and loops old Mad-Eye forced us to make. So, I told Sirius that the old goat's favorite drink was English breakfast tea!"_

_Moody's growl echoed through the hall. "Nymphadora Tonks, I may never forgive you for this!"_

_As Tonks clumsily flitted to Moody's frame, I turned to Harry. "Should we leave the portraits to their bickering?"_

_Harry hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear. "That sounds like a bloody brilliant idea. You have no idea how many of these bickering I have been a witness to." Then, he lifted me off his lap and up into his arms before standing up._

"_HARRY!" Ginny and I yelled at the same time as he adjusted me more securely in his arms._

"_What?"_

"_Put me down!" I said trying to wiggle out of his arms. "I can walk up the stairs myself."_

_Harry's arms firmly held me still. "Stop wiggling or the two of us will go toppling down the stairs."_

_I stilled as Ginny, Lily, and Tonks laughed at the two of us._

"_Leave the boy alone, ladies." James said piping up to defend his son's chivalry._

_Harry started climbing the stairs and replied, "Thanks, but we have talked about this boy thing, Dad. Good night all."_

_I looked over his shoulder and saw the three Marauder men laughing at us. I laughed right along with them._

_On the other hand, Harry ignored the portrayed women's renewed protests and continued to walk up the stairs. He stopped on the landing that led to both Sirius and Regulus' bedrooms and placed my feet gently on the floor. "Hermione, pick a room. I don't feel like waking up in the middle of the night and running across the hall."_

_I raised my eyebrows at his assuming statement._

_He raised his eyebrows back at me. "Can you guarantee that you won't start screaming in the middle of the night?"_

_I hung my head and trudged toward Sirius' room and the bigger bed._

I wiggled for a few more minutes futilely trying again to find the most comfortable position before Harry's right arm shot out and wrapped firmly around my waist. He was still asleep, but it seemed his unconscious mind was paying attention to me.

I huffed, frustrated at myself and my brain.

Harry pulled me tighter against him as he shifted to lie on his side. He mumbled something incoherently into my hair as I was moved so my back was flush against the hard planes of his uncovered chest. His left arm made its way under my neck to act as a pillow. His right leg slipped in between my own legs and wrapped around my left leg.

Being so entangled together, I could feel his heartbeat pulsing against my back, his warm breath on my neck, and the softness of his flannel sleep pants nestled between my thighs. I matched my breathing to his breath that was warming my neck. Then, I began to settle my racing heart to match his calm one beating against my back. Being so wrapped up in his warmth, I drift off into an uneasy sleep full of Bill's words.

_**How could you be so cold?**_

_**What could Ron have ever done to deserve being hexed like that?**_

_**He won't let any of us in to see him.**_

_**Why can't we get into Grimmauld Place?**_

_**It took the healers twelve hours to reverse the hex you placed on him.**_

_**Mum is livid that she can't see her baby boy.**_

_**Fleur is trying to give you the benefit of the doubt.**_

_**George had to rush Katie to St. Mungo's when she found out you were missing.**_

_**Bogrod has been trying to get you by owl post.**_

_**The healers had to give Mum a calming draught because she was ranting so loudly.**_

_**What in the bloody hell is going on?**_

"Hermione, wake up. You're dreaming." I heard Harry's voice say from above me breaking though Bill's harsh and confused words. "Wake up, please. You are safe. You are safe here with me."

I opened my eyes to him holding me even tighter than when I had fallen asleep. I could feel the tears falling from my eyes onto his arm and the pillow that were cushioning my head.

Harry lifted his right hand from where it had slipped under the shirt I was wearing at my waist to wipe the tears from my face. "You're safe with me, Hermione. You don't have to worry about your dreams coming true or them coming back to inflict injury again."

I tried to take a deep breath as his arm settled around my waist again. "They hate me. They all hate me."

"No, they don't…" Harry responded trying to reassure me.

"You don't know… you didn't see…Molly is livid and ranting…" I said breaking each incoherent sentence with a sob.

Harry disentangled his leg from mine and then, turned me in his arms.

I buried my face in his hard, bare chest as his arms tightened again.

"I don't understand you. What don't I see? Do you think the Molly is ranting at the healers or at Ron?"

I shook my head and brought my hand up to wipe the fresh tears from my eyes. Then, I toyed with one or two of the sparse hairs on his chest as I quietly said. "Molly is livid at me. She is ranting at everyone because you made it so she can't get me."

"Hermione, you have never been accused of having an overactive imagination. Don't start now."

I pushed away from him and sat up a little too quickly. Harry's hand shot out and caught my neck and then, slid it to my shoulder trying to steady me from falling off the bed and onto the hardwood floor.

I shoved his hand off of me as I forcefully said, "I am not imagining this, Harry. That is what Bill said is happening."

"How? What? Why?" Harry stuttered. "Did you floo call Bill after I went to sleep?"

I shook my head no.

"Be glad I can see you in this minimal moonlight." Harry teasingly chastised. "So, how did Bill let you know?"

"I read his letter. " I said in barely a whisper.

His hand brushed past my arm and then, grasped it on the way back to his side. "Hermione."

~*Changes Unknown*~

Harry was pacing nervously from one end of the parlor to the other in front of the couch I was curled up on. We are both still in our pajamas, but I am glad that Harry put a shirt on.

I had stopped following him with my eyes twenty minutes ago. "Harry, would you please sit down?"

He just paused for a moment to glare at me and then, continued with his pacing.

"Harry, everything will be fine once Bill and Fleur arrive." I said in a huff. "I just have to explain what happened, even if Ron refuses to."

"You shouldn't have to explain." Harry snarled. "He should have to explain all of the past three, more accurately ten years to his family. He should stop hiding behind stronger people and be the man he always dreamed and fantasized of being."

"Why don't you tell me how you really feel?" I asked sarcastically trying to break through his anger.

"Funny, Hermione." Harry answered back. "You know what I mean. You and I have always had to do the dirty work. He needs to do his own this time!"

"I should keep my mouth shut?" I asked incredulously. "Should I let the Weasley family, who has been a second family to me, continue to hate me until he decides to step up and be the man I thought he was?"

Harry quickly stopped his pacing in the middle of my second question and came to kneel in front of me. "Hermione, you have been telling me since fifth year that I have this saving people, hero complex."

"So? You do have a saving people, hero complex which many people have tried and succeeded at exploiting over the years." I interjected not liking where I think this conversation is headed.

"I am not the only one being exploited." Harry said with a smirk at the fact that he was using my own word against me. "Think about this from an outsider's perspective, Ron has been exploiting you since first year. He has copied your notes in school. He ate and then, complained about the food you made us while on the run. He tried to claim your DA idea in fifth year. He used you to get rid of Lavender in sixth year and then, he ignored you."

"I knew there was something else behind Hermione turning on Ron!" Bill's angry voice seethed from the fireplace.

"Bill, you promise you will listen." Fleur chastised her husband. "You work closely with her. You are her friend. You love her like a sister. Give her a chance."

"She shouldn't have to explain anything. Explaining what happen should be Ron's responsibility." Harry spat still crouching before me.

"Harry, it is not worth it." I said ruffling his already mussed and messy hair. "He doesn't know what is going on."

"I don't know what exactly is going on either, but I know you wouldn't do anything to anyone especially someone you love without just cause." Harry said in a slightly confused, but truthful tone.

Bill broke into our small conversation. "You are defending her without even know why she put such a strong bat bogey hex on Ron that it took several healers twelve hours to refuse it."

Ginny piped up from one of the portraits the hallway occupants had crowded into. "Good job, Hermione. My strongest took only two healers nine hours to correct."

Bill turned on his baby sister. "Ginny, I cannot believe you are congratulating her on hexing your brother. I can't believe are choosing her over your family."

"Bill, you may be the oldest, but you definitely aren't the smartest Weasley kid." Ginny scoffed back.

"Gin…" I started jumping up from the couch to interrupt the developing family squabble.

She interrupted me back and glared at me. "Hermione, I agree with Harry. You are not going to fight Ron's battles for him anymore." Then, she turned to her favorite brother and her sister-in-law. "Bill, Fleur, there is something you don't know about Ron."

I knew she couldn't say the full truth. I shouted, "Ginerva, you can't tell them."

"Ron cheated on Hermione and she caught him in their bed." Ginny said seemingly ignoring me. "He has been cheating on her for years. There is more to tell, but Ron needs to be the only one to tell you. That is the only way he will be able to move on and be productive in his life."

Bill sat down on the floor right where he had been standing. He looked in complete shock. He ran his hand through his hair and practically ripped off his traveling cloak.

Harry looked between Bill on the floor and me standing at the couch. In his dead tone, he asked, "There's more?"

_I know that Bill's full letter wasn't in here, but I couldn't figure out how to do a plain letter with my style. I hope you liked the way I did put it in._

_I love the responses that I have gotten for this story. I actually started jumping up and down when I saw that this story has 114 followers! I am so happy that all 114 of you are interested in the lives I have dreamed up for Hermione and Harry. Just remember, even though this chapter has them all friendly and close doesn't mean they will always stay that way. _

_I am attempting to add in more details into the story. I am going to try adding more and more with each chapter. I am terrified of going overboard with them, if I do please let me know. I would appreciate any and all feedback. I will send previews of upcoming chapters to reviewers (unless you let me know that you don't want one)._

_~KaliMione77_

_P.S. Sorry. I know this took a few days longer than I expected. Real Life decided to throw a massive wrench into my plans._


	4. Chapter 4

_I do not own Harry Potter or anything else in the world that J. K. Rowling. I just enjoy messing with her characters a little!_

_Hermione thoughts and memories are in Italics. This chapter has lots of italics._

**Changes Unknown: 4**

Harry turned down the burgundy with gold trim duvet of Sirius' canopy bed as he asked, "Are you sure you want to go back to work tomorrow?"

"I have to go, Harry. I can't just take time off whenever I feel like it." I said with a half joking smirk as I turned down my side. "Not all of us have the money to rattle around this large townhouse." I slipped into the bed and relaxed.

"Don't knock it until you try it." He joked back with a slight defensive edge to his voice.

"Exactly how much American television did Dudley force you to watch while you were living in Surrey?" I asked mockingly.

His only response was to toss a pillow in my face before turning toward the washroom. He removed his dark tee as he walked. He was showing off his toned and lean muscled body that proved just how much he didn't just rattle around all day.

"Harry, remember to grab a fresh shirt before joining me." I called out to him as he closed the washroom door.

He only grunted through the thick, elm door in response before turning on the shower.

I pulled the covers up and snuggled deeper into them after I grabbed Lavender Brown's latest risqué novel.

Less than twenty minutes later, he had showered, brushed his teeth, changed into his pajamas, and crawled into the plush bed.

I glanced at him as he pulled the comforter and sheet over his long legs that were clad in emerald green and white striped sleep pants. My eyes followed the line of his muscles up to his chest and his bare shoulders.

"Hermione Jean Granger, are you checking me out while reading Lav-Lav's erotica?" Harry asked smirking at me as he got comfortable between the sheets.

"I wasn't checking you out!" I snapped back while blushing profusely. I took a deep, calming breath and continued, "I was just checking to make sure you were properly clothed like I asked you to be."

"Sure you were." He said sarcastically back.

"I was!" I said loudly while slamming my book shut. I took another breath to try to calm myself again. "Also, I appreciate the tank top compromise. I know you hate sleeping with things tight on your arms."

He smiled up at me and reflectively said, "I love that you get that. Ginny never did." His tone and words chased the ire I was feeling out of me quickly.

I had to ask. "I know you only talked to Ron and me about our months on the run. Did you ever try to explain to her that you flashback to the frigid temperature of the tent with too many clothes on while sleeping?"

"I wasn't ready to talk about it yet." He said dryly. He stared at the ceiling as he continued. "It had only been a year since the battle at Hogwarts. I was still trying to put on a face that I was fine, happy, and back to normal. We were about to be married. Plus, we were talking about starting a family a few years down the line. I couldn't crush her thoughts and hopes and happiness with all of my drama."

I heard all that he said, but I was caught by one thing. "You weren't happy?" I asked quietly staring at him.

He looked up at me through his eyelashes. "I tried to be happy. I knew I was supposed to be. I was the hero, the man that saved the wizarding world. I had an amazing woman on my arm. I was supposed to have pushed past all of those cold nights with the two or three of us huddled together in that horrendous tent. I was supposed to look past Fred, Collin, Lupin, and Tonks deaths. I was supposed to go to every fighting or innocent person's funeral. I was supposed to stop everything to listen to everyone's praise and happiness that the war was finally over while listening to their misery at the same time." He took a deep breath before finishing. "I tried and wanted to be happy, but I wasn't."

I felt a lone tear escape my welled eyes and quickly wiped it away. I didn't know what to say in response to that. I reached over and brushed his unruly hair out of his eyes and off of his forehead.

"Mione," he looked up questionably. "Were you two ever in the same room down in that maze of dungeons?"

"Harry, I don't think this is a good idea." I said turning my head to the side and wiping away the now free flowing tears.

He reached up and across my body to cup my chin in his hand gently. "I need to know. I need to know that she saw a friendly face that she loved the last month of her life." He said as he turned my face back to his. The look of raw emotion and need on his face broke me further.

I nodded minutely against his hand. It was such a slight movement he had to feel it more than see it.

He nodded back with tears streaming from his own eyes. "Come here, Hermione." He commanded as he dropped his arm to my hands that were wrapped around my chest. "We need to get some sleep if you insist on going to work tomorrow."

I allowed him to pull me easily down to lay beside him. He tugged me closer into his side. After several quiet moments, I feigned sleep and heard Harry succumb to his Dreamless Sleep Draught a minute or two later.

After almost a half hour of moving my fingers up and down across the ridges of Harry's vest, I slowly inched out from under his arm and slipped from the room.

It was only 10 o'clock. I grabbed my robe and made my way to the drawing room fireplace. Whispering a quick spell and throwing a pinch of powder in the fireplace erupted into green flames.

"AFT Manor." I said hoarsely into the flames.

Seconds later, Hannah and Seamus Finnigan's drawing room swam before my eyes. Seamus screeched at the surprise of seeing my head in the grate. Hannah came running into the room to see what was wrong with her husband.

After looking around and seeing what caused her husband to scream, Hannah laughed at him saying, "Seamus Finnigan! Sometimes, I swear you had to have taken a courage potion the night of the battle."

Laughing at the common remark, he answered with, "I thought you liked when Neville and I rigged the bridge to blow."

Hannah smiled and kissed his cheek. "I did. Now, get out. I need to talk to Hermione."

Seamus waved to Hermione before kissing his wife on the head as they passed each other crossing to opposite sides of the room. Hannah crouched down in front of me on the golden yellow and burgundy paisley hearth rug.

"Now that Seamus is gone, tell me to what do I owe the pleasure of this late night floo call?" She asked as she placed her elbows on the tile and her smiling face in her hands.

I bit my lip for a long, tense moment before blurting out everything that had happened over the course of the past few days. "Hannah I lied to him. I told him I saw her in those dungeons." I ended with tears streaming down my face. "I don't know if I can keep doing this."

"I have asked you the same question every time we have talked about this for the past two years. You must tell Harry the truth eventually, why not now?" Hannah said reaching into the emerald green flames to wipe away a few tears from my cheek. I truly believe it is past time that he learned what really happened during your time there. He deserves to know about his child."

"I can't. I can't tell him about the baby." I said beginning to panic. "I just lost one best friend. Please don't make me do something to lose another just after I have found him again."

"Well, that is my official Healer opinion. You need to tell him the whole truth, not just for him. Those headaches and chest pains you have been having for the past two years aren't only from the spells they used against you. You both will be able to move on with your lives."

"I'll think about it, Hannah." I said placating her. Then, I realized the time from the two chimes of the grandfather clock in the corner of the drawing room. "I am sorry for keeping you up this late. Seamus will probably be pissed at me tomorrow."

"No, he won't. He is probably passed out in bed spread out and taking up the whole thing." Hannah said waving off my worry.

"Thanks for the mental image." I laughed back. "I will see you next week at the Dumbledore's Army meeting."

"Bye, Hermione." Hannah said as I began to pull my head out of the flames.

After making myself a cup of warm tea, I climbed the stairs and slipped into the bed in Regulus' old bed. I stared into the dark trying to find a reason to dispute Hannah's theory of telling Harry the truth. I have known I needed to tell Harry everything for a while now, but I didn't think either of us could handle it.

I drifted off into uneasy sleep thinking about Harry, Ginny, a baby that should have been born, and a silver corkscrew earring creating a hole through a thick dirt, rock, and clay wall.

_Blah, blah, blah. Work & idiotic bosses. Blah, blah, blah. Stupid computer malfunctions. Blah, blah, blah. Stupid ex-fiancé. Blah, blah, blah. Computer lost this chapter twice in the past two weeks. Bah, blah, blah. My crazy reasons for not posting sooner._

_I wrote this in two days after my computer lost it for the second time. I have the next chapter written in a notebook. I will type it up as soon as my friend fixes the glitches that are driving me nuts._

_Anyways, I love the responses that I have gotten for this story. I am so happy that all of you are interested in the lives I have dreamed up for Hermione and Harry._

_I really and truly appreciate any and all feedback. I will send previews of upcoming chapters to reviewers (unless you let me know that you don't want one)._

_~KaliMione77_

_P.S. The next chapter will have a loose description of Hermione being raped._


	5. Chapter 5

_I do not own Harry Potter or anything else in the world that J. K. Rowling. I just enjoy messing with her characters a little!_

_Hermione thoughts and memories are in Italics. This chapter is mainly Hermione dreaming about being held in captivity and what happened immediately afterwards. Warning this chapter does loosely describe Hermione being sexually tortured._

**Changes Unknown: 5**

Twist.

Twist.

Toss the dirt.

Twist.

Twist.

Toss the dirt.

Twist.

Twist.

Slice.

"Ouch!"

Drip.

Drip.

Twist.

Twist.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Ginny's weak voice asked through the small openings in each of our cell doors.

"I'm fine, Ginny." I said putting as much strength in my voice that I could spare. I placed my left uninjured hand as flat as possible against the rough texture of the rough texture of the mud, clay, and rock dungeons wall. "I just whacked my head as I sat up in the bed alcove again. It's nothing."

"Oh!" Ginny said in a barely audible, breathy whisper.

"Ginny, you need to get some rest. Get some while you can." I encouraged her. I sat still crossed-legged on the dirt floor with my hand against the wall waiting to hear her move. When I heard the cotton fabric of her now tattered, baby blue summer dress rustle, I added, "I will try to wake you in a half hour. They shouldn't be back for another fifteen after that."

Twist.

Twist.

Toss the dirt.

Twist.

Twist.

Toss the dirt.

Twist.

Twist.

My body seemed to still itself when I heard keys jangling in the lock of the door that concealed the dungeon corridor. "Ginny, I lost track of my counting. They are here." I whisper yelled at the woman I considered my sister.

I hit the corkscrew earring behind a couple of rocks in the wall. A few days after we had arrived and I had recovered from my first beating, I had found that a few of the rocks on the walls between our cells were loose. I pried them away from the wall and discovered that the beginnings of a tunnel had been dug out behind them.

After replacing the rocks, I moved into the waiting position on my knees, so my head would be at their crouch level. I heard Ginny quickly slide off her bed, shuck her dress, and sit in the middle of the room like we had been painfully taught when we had arrived.

My door was opened first like always since it was closest to the hallway door.

"Look at the little mudblood bitch." One of our captures said as the approached close enough for me to see his feet with my lowered eyes. "She looks so pretty dressed just for us."

"Precisely, she is dressed in what her blood contains, mud, dirt, and clay." The other answered.

I knew Mr. Parkinson had the less formal and intelligent comment, but the other voice sounded a bit different. It sounded like Ludo Bagman, but slightly off normal.

Ludo spoke again. "What are Shunpike and Thicknesse doing next door?"

"Why are you asking so many questions today?" Mr. Parkinson demanded of the former beater. "You know that they are fucking Harry Potter's blood traitor bitch next door. I am still unsure why, but you played with her just two days ago. Personally, I don't think her heart is in her work like this one's is."

"I remember, but she seemed a bit off at the time. I assumed she would be removed from the rotation." Ludo answered somewhat disjointedly.

"The blood traitor was just messing with your head. She loves spreading her legs." Mr. Parkinson laughed. "Maybe she just didn't like your dick which seems weird since she could stand Potter's."  
"To wrong you are." Ludo laughed back half-heartedly. As Ludo's feet started to head toward the door, he said, "Well, I will step out and let you get to it, Parkinson."

At the sound of his retreating feet, I began shaking. I had never been left alone with one Death Eater before. I was terrified that this could be the end for me.

As Mr. Parkinson unzipped his trousers to release his small and wrinkled appendage, he said, "Why are you leaving? You know this dirty bitch likes to be watched. Look. She is shaking because she is afraid you will miss a great show."

Ludo stopped and came back toward the center of the room and my body stopped shaking. "Well, have at her. I want to try something new on my go."

Knowing what Mr. Parkinson demanded that I do, I wrapped my lips around his semi-soft member and began sucking. I hoped he thought I was choking on his non-impressive size and not because I was revolted by him.

My mind drifted as it always did when I was servicing one of the Death Eaters. I went through the motions, but in the back of my mind I knew things felt different this time.

Before he came, he pulled his dick out of my mouth and dragged me by my hair to the chains attached to the wall. I felt the now familiar click of the chains being fastened to my wrists and ankles to lift me slightly off the floor. I again barely felt him inside me, but I still made the appreciative sounds that I knew would get him finished quickly.

Ludo and I both jerked our heads toward the door at the same time when the sound of someone violently vomiting was closely followed by a loud gurgling, ripping sound in the next room. I knew Ginny had been feeling poorly because of her pregnancy, but she was usually able to stop herself from puking on the Death Eaters.

I had only a small idea what the ripping sound was and I hoped that I was wrong.

Mr. Parkinson slowly withdrew his miniscule penis from me and swore loudly. "Those fucking arseholes! They were supposed to wait until Potter gave us the ransom to kill her." He quickly stuck himself into his pants and trousers.

Before he could turn around, Ludo punched him in the back of the head. Mr. Parkinson fell against me and slide down my body as the light left his eyes.

I heard Stan Shunpike and Pius Thicknesse running toward my dungeon cell at the sound of Parkinson's body slamming me into the wall. I was not sure why, but Ludo spun and stunned them as they burst through the metal cell door.

Spinning back to me, he said, "Hermione, I will be right back for you." Then, he ran from the room. I heard him scurry next door and gasp.

While I was alone, I attempted to yank the chains holding me up out of the wall. I stopped when I saw a patronus flash across the open door. I heard the main dungeon door slam shut second later.

Ludo appeared in the doorway and roughly pulled Thicknesse's cloak from his back. A tear or two dropped from his eyes as he turned back out of the cell and returned to Ginny's.

His eyes were pointed toward the floor when he entered my cell wiping his face clear of tears.

"Mr. Bagman," I said with a tremor in my voice. "Why? What?"

"Hermione, I am not Ludo Bagman. Ludo is in a safe house. He has been working with the Ministry for the past week to find you. He was playing a role. He is terribly sorry for anything he may have done to you and Ginny this past week." He said slowly walking toward me with his empty hands raised. "I am Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"What?" I gasped. I pushed much more strength into my voice. "Prove it!"

A strange smirk appeared on Ludo's face. "The night we moved Harry Potter to the Burrow, you killed a Death Eater and could finally see the Thestral we were flying on. You begged me not to tell anyone because you were afraid of what they would think about you."

"Kingsley, help me down!" I shouted, still afraid to smile.

He caught me as my legs struggled to take my weight. After setting me on the small dirt bed, he took his cloak off and covered me with it.

I began shaking violently again when I heard several pops outside the main dungeon door.

"Hermione, I have you. You don't have to worry about those men anymore. That is the sound of people who care about you. With Ludo's help, the remaining Death Eaters have been rounded up." He said as he picked me up and cradled me to his chest. "You are safe now. I have you. I am going to take you to the healers."

"There are healers outside?" I questioned him.

"Yes, there are a few waiting to check on you." He said with a sad note in his voice.

I knew he meant just me. I looked over at the two unconscious bodies near the doorway. "One of them slit Ginny's throat." I said in a matter of fact tone.

He mumbled something unintelligible before he pushed my face into his chest and carried me down the long, dirt passage way. "The Weasley's are here. They aren't allowed down into the dungeon. They don't know about Ginny yet. Be prepared."

"What is Harry?" I asked in a whisper.

"He knows. McGonagall is going down to Ginny's cell with Harry before they bring her body up."

Immediately after we were out of the passage way, the majority of the Weasley family was surrounding us.

After kissing the top of my head, Molly cried, "Hermione, you're safe. You're safe."

Bill, Charlie, and George all tried to rip me out of Kingsley's arms, but he held me fast. "She needs to stay with me."

"That is not bloody well going to happen." George yelled still trying to get me away from Kingsley.

"I know you hate this, but she needs to go with me."

Charlie squeezed my hand gently. "We will follow you to St. Mungo's as soon as Harry helps Ginny come up here."

"See you soon," Bill said before kissing my forehead lightly.

Kingsley carried me over to a healer that made sure it was safe for me to apparate.

Just before Kingsley and I left the field next to Parkinson Manor, I heard a sound I knew all too well. It was the sound of Harry Potter screaming in pain.

After the familiar squeeze of apparation, Kingsley and I were in a private lobby of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Several healers rushed towards us.

I hid further into Kingsley's broad strong chest. "I want Hannah Abbott." I said quietly.

"What was that, Hermione?"

"I want Hannah. I need Hannah." I said louder.

Head Healer, Hippocrates Smethwyck, said, "You don't want a Healer-in-Training, especially one that is in the delivery ward. I will take care of you personally, Miss Granger."

I grabbed Kingsley's wand out of his vest's top wand pocket. I jumped out of his arms while keeping his cloak wrapped around me. "I have been tortured for… for…"

"A month…" Kingsley supplied.

I started over keeping Kingsley's wand pointed at Smethwyck's chest. "I have been tortured for a month. I am cranky, hungry, and I had to listen to one of my best friends die. I want Hannah Abbott and you will bring her to me in a room now."

"Right away, Miss Granger. If you will just follow Healer Pye, he will show you to a room." Smethwyck said backing away from the crackling sparks emanating from the wand pointed at his chest.

Moments later, I was lying in a bed in a private room waiting for my friend.

Hannah burst through the door with tears streaming down her face. She rushed to my side and hugged me as tightly as I could stand. "I talked with Smethwyck. He is going to keep some information to himself."

"What information?" Kingsley demanded from her.

She looked back and forth between the imposing Minister of Magic and me.

"Hermione, what are you two young women hiding from me?" He said trying to intimidate me.

Hannah wrapped her arm around my shoulders as I turned to cry into her shoulder. I managed to brokenly say, "Ginny was… Ginny was pregnant. She planned… she planned to… to tell Harry, but didn't. We were getting supplies… for her to tell him the day we were taken."

Kingsley went to sit in the visitor chair, but missed and sat hard on the floor. "Shit." He whispered.

"Hermione… Hermione… Wake up… Hermione…" a familiar voice said adding to my dream. "Wake up… Hermione…"

I turned in Hannah's arms looking for the new voice. I couldn't see anyone and Hannah's arms felt different around me.

"Hermione, you need to wake up." The male voice said again. "Winky, I don't know what else to do." "Hermione, please wake up. Kreacher will be back any moment with Hannah. Please wake up."

"Harry? Where? What is wrong?" I said blinking my eyes open. I looked up into Harry's face that was very close to mine. I realized that his arms were wrapped tightly around me.

"Nothing is wrong now." He said with relief in his voice. "I have been trying to wake you up for a few minutes. I sent Kreacher to fetch Hannah. I was getting worried."

"I'm fine, Harry." I said before easing out of his arms and sitting against the headboard.

"Hermione, you kept saying 'the baby' and Hannah's name." Harry said a little sheepishly. He looked at me through half closed eyes and asked, "Are you pregnant?"

I coughed a few times, choking on air. I sputtered out, "No! No, I am not pregnant."

He held his hands up in defense. "Sorry, it was just a guess. I just wanted to be sure."

My breathing calmed down a bit. "In order for that to be possible, Ron would have had to touch me since our engagement party eleven months ago." I paused ignoring Harry's shocked face. "Maybe the fact that he didn't like sex with me should have been a clue."

"Sorry to backtrack, but if you aren't pregnant, why are you dreaming about babies and Hannah?" Harry asked breaking me from my thoughts. "Do you want to be pregnant?"

"Um… I… Um… No… Yes… I don't know… Um…" I mumbled through my finger after I covered my face in embarrassment.

Hannah spoke up from the doorway. "Hermione, if you have been for the perfect moment to explain things, here it is on a silk sheeted bed."

I threw the covers off of me and crossed to Hannah. "Thanks for the help. I'm not really ready for this."

"Hermione, what are you and Hannah talking about?" He asked looking in between the two of us in shock.

"It was just a nightmare about the past." I started.

He moved to hug me. "Mione, I never knew you lost a child." He took a shallow breath. "Did those Death Eater bastards…?"

I shook my head slowly no.

His shoulders slumped like he was visibly relieved. "Fine, then what was it about?"

I looked back toward Hannah. She silently said, "Explain."

I turned back to Harry. "I was never pregnant, but Ginny was."

_Again, I didn't create any new characters. Mr. Parkinson was talked about in one of the books. Shunpike was in books 3, 6, & 7. Thicknesse was in book 7 (I am going with the book version where he fought Percy, but we don't know what happened to him after the wall that killed Fred fell.) Healers Smethwyck and Pye are healers in the __Dai Llewellyn ward in book 5._

_I really and truly appreciate any and all feedback. I will send previews of upcoming chapters to reviewers (unless you let me know that you don't want one). I am also working on 2 new stories that I am trying to finish before I start posting. I will keep you up to date about them._

_~KaliMione77_

_P.S. I know I was supposed to have this out on Thursday, but I was waylaid by a surprise, four day, Bachelorette (Hen) Party Cruise._


	6. Chapter 6

_I do not own Harry Potter or anything else in the world that J. K. Rowling. I just enjoy messing with her characters a little!_

_This chapter is Hermione listening to her friends having a conversation about her while she is sitting on the couch in the next room._

**Changes Unknown: 6**

_Two Weeks Later_

"Has she moved at all today? Is she doing any better?" Bill asked to the group of ladies huddled around the kitchen table in Shell Cottage. None of the four women answered, but I knew at least one of them shook their head no when Bill plopped into a chair and whispered, "Oh."

I huffed lightly because their answer wasn't completely true. I had stopped fighting them when to move me or dress me over the past week. I didn't have the energy to fight anymore. I had actually swallowed a potion or two earlier on my own without Hannah helping by rubbing my throat. Hannah had caught me getting myself a glass of orange juice and made me swallow the potions before I retreated again. Plus, when Fleur, Kate, Luna, and Hannah, left me alone for twenty minutes by going to pick ingredients from the garden, I flooed to the house I had for a short time called home. I had quickly and quietly run up to the bedroom. I cast the strongest itching charm that I could muster on the sheets and ran back to the floo like I had never moved from the couch.

Their conversation interrupted my musings.

Fleur asked her husband, "Did he let you see him today? Did you get any information about what has happened?"

"He blocked me from even landing on the front stoop." Bill answered dejectedly. "I am afraid we are all going to have to band together to break through the wards he has put up around Grimmauld Place. Hermione taught him too well those months that they were on the run."

I could picture Katie stopping rubbing her swollen stomach to lean her elbows on the table as she spoke. "Winky and I have come up with a rough plan."

"Oh, no!" Fleur interrupted. "You have been spending way too much time with that husband of yours."

"Hilarious." Katie retorted. "Back to the idea, what if someone sends a distress signal to him."

"Katie, I know that you mean well, but…" Bill started to say.

Then, Katie's hand slapped the table. "Listen to me. We send a patronus into Grimmauld Place with a message that someone is in danger."

Hannah interrupted her. "It sounds like you have a couple of flaws in your plan. He will hate us for lying to him."

Luna's newborn gave a small burp as she added to the discussion. "He can't be angry if it is the truth."

"We are not putting someone in danger just to draw Harry out of his self imposed isolation." Fleur exclaimed.

"Luna is right. A distress signal could be the truth right now." Bill stated calmly.

"How so?" Hannah inquired.

"Hermione is in danger in a way. Luna and I can see it."

Fleur, Katie, and Hannah's faces were probably flicking back and forth between the blonde and the ginger trying to gain understanding.

Luna answered first as she stood, scraping her chair on the floor. "Hermione is losing her magical powers." She said before cooing to her daughter after nestling her in the basinet setting in the corner.

"She is what?" Katie asked dumbfounded.

"Oh, my. It is very hard to come back from that if it is true." Hannah added seemingly to herself.

"Ron noticed it is getting weaker as well." When the room stayed silent, Bill explained. "She flooed over to Ron's place and cast an itching charm on their old bed."

"You are in contact with Ron after what he did to Hermione." Fleur said sounding outraged. "You almost disowned Hermione when you just guessed that she cheated on him. His betrayal is part of the reason Hermione is getting weaker."

"Healer Pye has been kind enough to keep me updated on Ron's visits." Bill stated. "He was a couple of years below me at Hogwarts. I used to tutor him in Transfiguration."

"Oh, well that is fine." Fleur said calming her French passionate side quickly. "Hermione has been sneaking out of the house."

"Sneaking out of the house is understandable. Who really wants to be babysat by four of their best hen friends and their husbands?" Hannah said half thoughtfully. "But the real problem is her magic is leaving her."

"I think it might…" Luna started.

Katie quickly interrupted her. "Luna, for the love of Merlin, please does not say that nargles or a crumpled horned snorkack or a moon frog or a blibbering humdinger or a gulping plimpy or anything else is stealing her magic."

"I wasn't going to say any of those. I was going to say that Hermione's magic, like all of ours, is tied to her emotions." Luna said in a matter of fact tone. "She needs to see Harry. Whatever happened between them needs to be fixed by them or Hermione might suffer irreparable damage."

"Wow! That was quite intelligent, Luna." Bill said dumbfounded.

"I was in Ravenclaw." Luna answered cheerily back. "Besides, Exploding Snabberwitches are the only animals that are thieves."

"There is the Luna we all know and love." I said accidently out loud.

All of the chairs scrapped against the wood floor of the kitchen as the five adults rushed to see if I had really talked for the first time in two weeks.

Bill and Fleur knelt down in front of me.

"Hermione…" Bill started softly.

I weakly waved my hand to cut him off. "So, is the plan to send Harry a distress signal still the option?"

_No, I didn't emphasize Fleur's France accent. I couldn't find a good balance when I tried in chapter four, so I didn't even try it when typing up this chapter._

_I know this a smaller chapter, but it moves the story to the next exciting event._

_I really and truly appreciate any and all feedback. I didn't get a chance to send out previews for this chapter because I wrote it in about three hours and wanted to get it out so I could move on to the next chapter. I do plan on sending out a preview for the next post which in my mind will be a sad, but funny one._

_~KaliMione77_


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